An Exo-lent show
K-Pop titan Exo gave Malaysian fans a night to remember, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli
AS an Exo fan, I thought Malaysia had a special place in the hearts of the K-pop group members. For its previous two world tours EXO’luXion and EXO’rDIUM, Malaysia was the only stop that provided an outdoor concert experience for the boys.
They had also commented on how special performing at Stadium Merdeka was for them. I bet all Malaysian fans felt proud on hearing that.
However, a few weeks ago, I found out that one of its members, Chanyeol, had revealed on a South Korean travel variety show that the stage at Stadium Merdeka was covered with bugs!
“Our choreography involved lots of lying down on the floor,” he had said. “There were dead bugs the size of my fingers; and spiders too.”
Yikes, what a nightmare! Now I feel sorry for them.
Well, luckily this year they had chosen Axiata Arena for the sold-out Malaysian stop of its fourth world tour, The ElyXiOn, which took place last Saturday.
As expected, Exo, one of South Korea’s biggest-selling K-pop acts, attracted around 15,000 die-hard fans (who call themselves Exo-L), filling the indoor venue to the brim.
From the get-go, the eight members — Suho, Xiumin, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Chen, D.O, Kai and Sehun - brought the roof down with their sleek choreography and fun songs.
They sang 30 songs, including The Eve (complete with sexy hips-swaying choreography!), as well as the super-catchy Ko Ko Bop, Call Me Baby, Lotto, Ka-Ching, What U Do? and Tender Love.
I particularly loved the Growl remix, as it featured a modified choreography. However, I don’t quite fancy the jazz remix to piano ballad Sing For You.
The members also showcased a solo performance each: Battle Scene (Baekhyun and Xiumin), I See You (Kai), Playboy (Suho), Nine Hands (Chanyeol), Heaven (Chen Solo) and Go (Sehun Solo).
My favourite was For Life by D.O, featuring Chanyeol on the piano. He sang the English version of the group’s winter single.
When Exo sang four of the last songs, Coming Over, Run This, Drop That and Power, the arena turned into a huge party with a fun and upbeat atmosphere, complete with confetti and pyrotechnics.
Exo closed the concert, promoted by Star Planet, with its more melancholic classics, Don’t Go and Angel.
It’s always amazing to see Exo-Ls’ passion through how they sang along to the Korean lyrics while waving their lightsticks. In between song performances, some video clips were shown of the boys acting in dramatic sequences.
Unfortunately, it was scriptless and I couldn’t understand what was happening most of the time. However, they were beautifully shot.
Sadly, another Exo member, Lay, couldn’t be part of the tour as he was tied to his solo schedules in China.
Overall, it was a fulfilling show for Exo fans who cheered at the top of their lurgs at seeing the boys.
However, I noticed that the members somehow didn’t project their vocals well during some of the performances. Perhaps they were focusing too much on the dancing and waving to the crowd that they “forgot” to sing.
The sound system was also to be blamed. The screaming from the fans drowned out the vocals and at times there was just too much echo.
Maybe it was just me but I bet no matter what the issue was, Exo-L would readily forgive them anyway. After all, the boys don’t come here often.